| The Paper Will Be Blue | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Radu Muntean |
| Produced by | Dragoş Potop, Dragoş Vilcu |
| Starring | Dragoş Bucur, Ion Sapdaru, Mimi Brănescu |
| Cinematography | Tudor Lucaciu |
| Editing by | Alexandru Radu |
| Studio | Multimedia Est |
| Release date(s) | 13 October 2006 |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | Romania |
| Language | Romanian |
| Budget | €700,000 (estimated)[1] |
The Paper Will Be Blue (Romanian: Hârtia va fi albastră) is a 2006 Romanian film written and directed by Radu Muntean. The film was nominated for the 2006 Golden Leopard award at Locarno International Film Festival.
Contents |
The film begins with a scene of an armored personnel carrier (APC) and a military checkpoint in the background. Two men come out of it, one in civilian clothing, the other in a Militia (Miliţia) uniform, and light up cigarettes. Suddenly, the soldiers manning the checkpoint open fire and kill all of the APC's occupants.
The film then cuts to a Militia night patrol in Bucharest. Out of enthusiasm, one of the men, Costi Andronescu, abandons the mission and decides to fight for the cause of the Revolution at the Television building. His CO, Lt. Neagu and the rest of the fireteam search for him during the confusing night of 22 December 1989.[2]
Costi meets a group in a truck on their way to defend the TV station. He is in uniform and greeted as a brother and told "you are a civilian now" and he swaps items of uniform with the other men for civilian clothing. He and an unnamed Gypsy are asked to step down as they need to take an injured soldier to hospital after the truck is flagged down.
Costi and the Gypsy end up in a villa with soldiers and fighters under Army command. The villa is under attack by what are presumed to be forces loyal to the Communist regime and the two men are ordered to defend it. At one point, however, they realize that the "enemy" are also Army soldiers and try to explain the situation to one of the officers at the scene, only to be branded "terrorists" and "Arabs". Costi is found to be partly in uniform, which further aggravates their situation. He receives a mild beating and the two are confined in the cellar. Later a Colonel checks out Costi's bonafides and he is allowed to go. Meanwhile his CO Lt. Neagu (who treats Costi and his men like sons) has been driving all over the city until he calls at Costi's mother's place where they watch TV, smoke cigarettes and wait for him to turn up, fearing he is dead.
Eventually he turns up, they drive back to base. The film ends with them in the same standoff seen at the beginning, sitting in their APC while regular army soldiers ask them to identify themselves at the checkpoint. The men are unsure what to reply, but decide to give their Militia password several times ("the paper will be blue"). The film ends just before the soldiers start shooting.